Having kept a watchful eye on mobile privacy trends in the US,
it comes as no surprise that the Office of the Australian
Information Commissioner ('OAIC') has now
focussed on privacy compliance in respect of apps and the mobile
environment.
Draft Practice Guide issued
In April the OAIC released a consultation draft of a proposed
practice guide entitled '
Mobile Privacy: A better practice guide for mobile app
developers', which we expect will be soon finalised
with no significant amendments ('Practice
Guide').
This Practice Guide will be the key guidance on privacy in the
app and mobile environment under the new Privacy Act and the
Australian Privacy Principals, which are effective from 12 March
2014. As we predicted, privacy compliance in the mobile environment
(including apps) is 'front and centre' in the OAIC's
thoughts and will be an area of 'increased scrutiny' for
the OAIC.
